Arts & Crafts Projects

ASTRONOMY CRAFTS

Galactic Mobiles:

salt

water

flour

mixing bowl

rolling pin

circle and star cookie cutters

baking sheet

toothpicks

fluorescent paints or glitter

yarn

wire clothes hanger

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Add 2 cups salt to 2-1/2 cups water, then stir in 4 cups flour. Mix well. Knead until the dough is a good consistency for shaping. Roll the dough out about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out star and circle shapes for make “stars” and “planets”. With a toothpick, poke holes in the top of each shape. Bake in oven for 2-3 hours. Check frequently to make sure they do not burn. Remove when brown and hard. Cool on cookie rack. Paint the shapes when cool. Use fluorescent paints or add glitter to wet paint to make them sparkle! Let dry. Thread string or yarn through the holes and tie to a clothes hanger to create a mobile. Hang your galactic mobile and enjoy!

BOTANY CRAFTS

Seed Mosaic.

Thin plywood or heavy cardboard

glue

seeds or rice

food coloring

A colorful mosaic for a wall decoration, map making or other designs can be made from a variety of dried beans or seeds. Draw the design on thin plywood or heavy cardboard. Fill in with a thin layer of glue, then the seeds. White rice may be colored by placing in water tinted with food coloring. Dry before gluing. Use to make water, grass, etc.

Life Cycle of an Apple Tree.

apple seeds

black marker

crayons

paint

glue

glitter

Learn about a tree's life cycle with this art project. Show children an apple seed. Explain that apple trees grow from apple seeds. Use a black marker to draw four identical tree trunks. Label them Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. Have the children paste a few seeds on the "ground" in front of the trees. Color the trunks and then decorate the trees to represent each part of the life cycle as follows:

Winter: Use black marker and brown crayons to extend the trunk into bare branches. Paint branches with a mixture of water and white glue to create a frosty, wintry look. Add some white glitter to make it shine.

Spring: Dip an index finger in green tempera paint and make tiny leaf buds on the branches. When the paint dries, pinch small strips of pink tissue paper to make blossoms. Glue blossoms to the tree.

Summer: Dip brush in dark green tempera paint and make splotches of green on the branches to represent broad summer leaves. Cut out small light green apples from construction paper and glue them to the tree.

Fall: Dip brush alternately in yellow and orange tempera paint and create splotches to represent changing autumn leaves. When the paint dries, cut out and glue on apples from red construction.

Fun Foam Flower Pot:

Flower Pot

acrylic paint

flowers cut out of fun foam

glue

craft sticks

picture of each child

spanish craft moss

foam brick or clay

Directions: Let children paint their flower pot. Let dry. Decorate, write Happy Mother's Day, etc. Have children glue their flowers on craft sticks. Take the child's picture and cut their face out and glue on one of the flowers. Put piece of foam brick or clay in bottom of pot, add moss. Stick 3 or 4 flowers in the pot. Variation: Instead of cutting flowers out of the fun foam, cut out the kids handprints and make those into the flowers! Very Cute! From the ChildFun site.

OCEANOGRAPHY CRAFTS

Ziplock Aquarium

blue construction paper

ziplock bag

pictures of fish

glue

oatmeal

Cut a piece of blue construction paper to fit a ziplock baggie. Cut out pictures of fish and glue to the blue paper. Insert into baggie. Add a small amount of oatmeal to the bottom for sand. Fun for PreK-1st.

CLAY CRAFTS

clay

paint

Use clay to make coiled pottery. Roll clay into long ropes about 1/2" thick. Coil tightly into pottery shape. Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes. Cool. Paint and dry.

COLONIAL CRAFTS

Tin Punch Craft:

nails

aluminum pie tins

Sketch out a design on the pie plate bottom. Use nails to punch holes along the design. Press the back edges flat. Hang and enjoy!

COTTON CRAFTS

cotton

Use cotton to create a snow scene, clouds, or a lamb.

SOAP CRAYONS

When my children were little, they loved to play in the bathtub for hours. Why not make it a productive hour! Here's a recipe for making soap crayons that your children can use in the tub to do "art" while you work on lesson plans or read a good book, nearby. (Don't leave small children unattended in the bathtub!)

Supplies needed:

1-1/2 cups of child-safe, powdered soap flakes, such as Ivory

Warm water

Few drops of food coloring for colored soap (make a batches for each color)

Candy molds, empty (clean) glitter tubes, or ice cube trays

Mix water with soap a little at a time just until wet and the mixture is very thick. Press into mold. Let air dry for several days or longer until hardened. Remove from mold. If you use a glitter tube, you will have to crack it to remove the crayon, but it will be more shaped like a crayon. Be sure to test on your tub before letting your children use it to make sure it doesn't leave a permanent stain. It depends upon the finish of the tub.